Wednesday

Los Angeles and Jake Andrade shot close to 50% from beyond the arc which helped the Clippers jump out to an early double-digit lead that they did not relinquish.

Hudson's Jake Andrade came into Tuesday night's second-round matchup of the Daily News’ "March Madness in May" NBA 2K video game tournament against Lincoln-Sudbury's Collin Murphy with a plan.

Andrade was selected by his peers to represent his school in a fundraising tournament for healthcare workers in partnership with A Shot For Life during the coronavirus pandemic. Each gamer donates $10 that goes to the emergency relief fund at Mass General Hospital.

Playing as the Los Angeles Clippers, he knew he wanted to get his stars going early.

"At first, I just wanted to use Kawhi (Leonard) and Paul George because they can exploit the mismatches of (Caris) LeVert and (Spencer) Dinwiddie," Clippers coach Doc Rivers (Andrade) said. "Once he switched to a zone, I realized that we could easily get by, by just penetrating with the point guard and dishing it to the corner for the 3, so that's what we went to and it worked."

Los Angeles and Andrade shot close to 50% from beyond the arc which helped the Clippers jump out to an early double-digit lead that they would not relinquish.

"They got off to a quick start," Nets point guard Kyrie Irving (Murphy) said. "That's what killed us honestly."

The Clippers shared the ball extremely well, racking up 32 assists compared to Brooklyn's 18 assists in LA's 91-73 victory over Murphy and the Nets.

Los Angeles also had five players finish in double figures. Leonard led the way with a game-high 36 points, while Paul George finished with 16 points and Landry Shamet and Lou Williams contributed with 14 points apiece coming off the bench.

"My teammates, especially a shout-out to Patrick Beverley who had nine assists, just kept giving me the ball when I was open in the corners when they played the zone," Leonard (Andrade) said. "That's the story right there."

Leonard shot 15-for-20 (75%) from the field and also compiled a game-high six rebounds and five assists.

"We couldn't stop Kawhi Leonard," said Nets coach Kenny Atkinson (Murphy), who in reality left the team in March. "He was making every shot, driving to the paint, making every layup."

"He and Paul George, too, his shooting, and I think Landry Shamet. His shooting was lockdown, too."

As a team the Clippers shot 66% from the field.

"The defense pretty much fell apart in the paint and in the corners," Atkinson said.

A lot of that success can be attributed to L.A.'s ball movement, which helped create a lot of easy shots.

"I really liked the ball movement because obviously if you move the ball, the ball moves faster than the humans on the court," Rivers said. "Just keep swinging the ball and you'll get an open shot eventually."

Kevin Durant led Brooklyn with a team-high 19 points with two rebounds and two assists. Irving finished with 15 points and Dinwiddie chipped in with 17 points.

(The Daily News has started a fundraiser with high schoolers, who will play video games against one another from across the MetroWest area to raise money for COVID-19 relief. No professional athletes or coaches were actually quoted for these games. If you’d like to donate to the A Shot For Life fundraiser for health care workers at Mass General, please click here.)